The Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) has directed its members to mobilise ahead of taking over offices of the Labour Party(LP) nationwide following the Supreme Court ruling that sacked Julius Abure as National Chairman of the party.
In a statement by its President, Joe Ajaero, the NLC directed the LP National Executive Committee (NEC) to appoint an interim leadership which will conduct an inclusive Special National Convention for the party in line with the provisions of the LP Constitution and the consent judgement.
“To resolve the leadership vacuum in the Labour Party, the surviving institutional members of the LP National Executive Committee (NEC) are expected to appoint an interim leadership which will conduct an inclusive Special National Convention for the party in line with the provisions of the LP Constitution and the consent judgement. Any step outside these constitutional procedures will be an affront to the rule of law and would be tantamount to an unmitigable assault on constitutional rule. Such mischief will be stoutly resisted by Nigerian workers and people,” the statement partly reads.
It added: “We use this medium to put every Nigerian worker, labour party members and patriotic citizens on alert. We will no longer condone the antics of inconsequential characters like Mr. Julius Abure whose only relevance is their availability for mischief and inanity at the behest of silhouettes in the corridors of power.
“The Supreme Court is one of the most enduring institutions and beacons of not only the rule of law but our sovereignty as a country. Nigerian workers and people, especially genuine members of the Labour Party will not sit back and watch unscrupulous elements desecrate Nigeria’s laws and the well-founded judgement of the Supreme Court.
” If we fail to take action, it means that we have accepted the complete deconstruction of the institutions of state and the desecration of the shared values that bind all of us as one people under constitutional rule.
“As authentic Labour Party leaders known to all Nigerians continue to take steps to recover and reposition the party as the vehicle for the emancipation of the Nigerian masses, we wish to warn that characters like Julius Abure should advise themselves to recuse themselves from the path of complete self-destruction they have embarked upon through their headless and heedless affront to the judgment of the Supreme Court that has swept their existence into oblivion. Just as we warned him about a year ago that Nigerian workers and genuine members of the Labour Party will always collect what belongs to them no matter how long a mischief lasts.
“By this communication, we urge every worker in Nigeria, all genuine members of the Labour Party and all lovers of democracy to be on standby to once again peacefully repossess all offices of the Labour Party nationwide. The leadership of the NLC Political Commission and other concerned Labour Party stakeholders will issue necessary directives to this effect.”
The congress put the security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service on notice, saying that they have a constitutional duty to enable and enforce the judgement of the Supreme Court.
It also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove every insignia of Abure and his National Working Committee from its portals.
“We are also putting all the security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service on notice that they have a constitutional duty to enable and enforce the judgement of the Supreme Court. We expect their cooperation as we pursue the rule of law. Any action to the contrary, will present our dear country as a banana republic.
“Finally, we call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which had always pleaded alignment with the pronouncement of the court of law in the leadership issues in the Labour Party to give full effect to the conclusive judgment of the Supreme Court by removing every insignia of Mr. Julius Abure and his National Working Committee from its portals.”
Responding to the threat by the NLC to take over its offices, National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh said the NLC has no right to attack any of its offices because there is no trade dispute.
The party said the latest threat by the NLC is “pure blackmail on INEC and security agencies to do the wrong thing.”
Ifoh, in a statement on Wednesday morning in Abuja, said the party would take every legal means to “deal with Ajero and his gangsters should they attempt to resort to self help.”
The statement reads: “The attention of the Labour Party leadership has been drawn to a statement issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero threatening to attack the offices of the Labour Party across the nation. Ordinarily, we would have ignored that threat but there is need to assure our teeming members of our commitment to keep the fate and resist all forms of rascality and intimidation from persons who think themselves to be above the laws of the land
“We therefore see NLC’s latest threat as pure blackmail on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and security agencies to do the wrong thing.
“The Supreme Court is clear about party leadership in which the courts have no business. The Supreme Court stated that courts can not interfere in the internal affairs of a political party. The Courts didn’t sack the NWC nor held the tenure to have lapsed. We advise Joe Ajaero and his ilks to seek legal advice if they can not comprehend a simple court pronouncement.
“Nigerians will recall that the Labour Party executive that was elected in 2019 whose tenure was to expire in June 2023, was extended in Asaba for one year by the National Executive Committee of which NLC attended and played a key role. The tenure was to end in June 2024, however, before the end of that duration, the National Convention was conducted in March 2024 in line with our party constitution and the 2022 Electoral Act as amended which ushered in the present leadership. There has never been any vacuum in the leadership of the Labour Party.
“We must note that we didn’t go to court with Nenadi Usman or any other person on account of leadership because leadership was not in dispute. We only went to court to compel INEC to give us uploading code for Ondo state governorship election. This was the case when Nenadi Usman and Mr Nwokocha came to join.
“We had warned them against the illegality of convening an unauthorised NEC meeting in Umuahia. Every outcome of that meeting is inconsequential, null and void, and of no value. They are again aggregating in Abuja this Wednesday in furtherance of their illegality.
“Threats to attack offices and organizations have become the hallmark of the NLC under Ajaero. Recall that in 2024, NLC forcefully broke into our national headquarters carting away valuables. That matter was reported to the police. The recent threat to invade our office was leaked to us by some members of the NLC, hence we alerted the nation.
“Ajaero should by now learn that attacking law-abiding citizens, hooliganism and rascality is not a trait of a good unionist. He should be concerned more about workers welfare. He has since politicised the Labour Union in Nigeria and he is no longer fit to occupy that exalted office. We have once advised him to quit unionism and join politics but he will not listen.
“We must state categorically that the NLC has no right to attack any Labour Party office because there is no trade dispute. Based on the trade dispute Act, you can not picket or declare a strike without a trade dispute. In any case, we do not have any staff of the NLC in our employment. There is no Union in our offices. their action is purely an illegality.
“Let it be known that we will take every legal means to deal with Ajaero and his gangsters should they attempt to resort to self help. We will not hesitate to write to the Registrar of Trade Union to discipline them if they resort to taking laws into their own hands.
“Finally, we will seek the protection of the security agencies but where they defy the security agencies, we will have no option but to mobilise our members across the nation to resist them.”
